Beyond The Veil
by rosieee
Summary: ch. 3 up! You thought it was the end, but it was only the beginning. Prequel to Fair Trade, my oneshot.
1. Getting the Hang of Things

A/N: Ok, so here it is! Based on a bit of demand, and the fact that I'd rather write what happens before Fair Trade than afterward (don't really trust myself with horcruxes and things like that…) :

The prequel to Fair Trade, a.k.a. what happens to Sirius in the land behind the mysterious veil! Yes, I know it's been done, leave me alone.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Even the title of the fic was taken from the chapter in _OotP _where Sirius falls through the veil. lifts glass Cheers to J.K. Rowling! Any quotes are cited from the books.

Note: I was thinking of italicizing Sirius' thoughts, but there are a lot of those. When you're alone in a dark place, you have a lot to think about. Sorry if that makes things unclear!

Not much action in this chapter, more him figuring things out, I'm afraid. And some random thoughts and memories. Enjoy!

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**Beyond The Veil**

**Chapter One: Getting the Hang of Things

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**

"_It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arch. . . _

_And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place." ---Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, page 806

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_

"Open your eyes, brother…" 

Sirius Black shifted; he felt as if he had been lying there for an eternity. His eyes opened in shock, and he cried out.

"Harry? Remus? Are you there? HARRY!"

But it was no use.

Where am I? The last thing I remember… Bellatrix. Oh, I'm going to make sure I get back at her for that one. But I can't do that unless I find her. Got to get my bearings, who knows which part of the Department of Mysteries I'm in.

Sirius tried to focus his eyes, but there was nothing to see. The room, or wherever he was, was pitch black.

Ok, let's list all of the rooms of the Department I know about.

The one with the prophecies, that's the one where the Death Eaters were waiting with the trap for Harry. Good thing I ordered Kreacher to tell me everything.

The one with the brains, saw Ron dealing with one of those things when I came in looking for that lot.

The planet one, almost went in there before I realized no one was inside, must be some kind of charm on that one.

The one with the Veil, that's the last one I was in, the one where I was fighting that piece of Death Eater crap.

Wait. The veil. I've heard of that one before. One of those Aurors in Azkaban was talking about it… what did he say? Ah… something about a portal to the world of the dead…

The world of the dead? The world of the dead! I'm dead? I must have fallen in there when _she_ hit me…

Hm. How fitting, a black death for a Black man.

…

Oh Merlin. Even my puns are dead. Well, I suppose they always were.

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(A/N: Flashback)

"I am being Sirius, Moony! I always have been, haven't I?"

"…That's not what I meant, and that pun was overused since the first time you said it. In first year, Padfoot. _First year!_"

* * *

Yeah, my puns haven't ever been that good. But what can you expect, with a name like Sirius? I've got to use that, come on! Remus could have made jokes about having a twin brother or something! He probably wouldn' t make any wolfish remarks though. Too scared someone might catch on. 

Moony. Wonder how he's taking this. He's the only one of us left now, other than that gross ugly_ rat_, Wormtail. Hope he's taking care of Harry.

Oh, gosh. Harry! He went nuts after Cedric died, and Harry didn't even know him that well! I'd like to think I was closer to Harry than Cedric. I hope he's doing OK.

OK? _How can he be doing OK, you oaf?_ He knows about the prophecy now, most likely. Dumbledore must've told him. How can he deal with that on his own?

Well, he's got Ron and Hermione, if he's told them about it by now. Maybe Ginny as well… he seemed to get a bit closer with her this year. Potters always have a thing for redheads, didn't James always tell me? Hm… Harry could use Ginny. She's a feisty one, she won't put up with his moodiness.

So. This is death, huh? Pretty bleak. At least there aren't any burning pits of fire. Though I'd prefer a gorgeous angel feeding me grapes. Or Bertie Bott's Beans. Maybe some Firewhiskey. That'd be wicked.

Or if I could catch up with some old friends. James and Lily… they'd probably want me to tell them all about Harry. Merlin knows I wouldn't like to be the one who has to tell Lily her only son's brushed death about five times. Or that he lived with her Muggle sister. Patricia, her name was? P. It started with a P. Pimple. If only her name was Pimple. I'd get a good few laughs out of that one.

Hmm…

Ooh, wasn't it a flower name? Like Lily. Peony? No… Petunia! That's the one!

That's one thing Lily and I've got in common. Siblings with names like ours who we hate like there's no tomorrow. Sirius and Regulus, the two stars. Like most of my family. But we were brothers.

That voice, the one that woke me up. It said…

Brother. Was it Regulus? If it was, then I must be in hell. _Damn it_. I should have been nicer to Snivellus.

Sirius sniggered.

Like that'd ever happen! It wouldn't work anyway, every time I look at the greasy-haired snot I _have_ to make a comment. Besides, that'd take all the fun out of life.

A voice that sounded suspiciously like the matronly voice of Molly Weasley when she was scolding her children flew from the back of his mind and told him,

Well, it would have been better than taking the fun out of death! You've got to deal with it forever now, don't you, Sirius!

Yes, _Mother_. Molly Weasley. I spent too much time with that woman at Headquarters, and now her voice's penetrated my mind! I must be going nuts. I lasted all that time in Azkaban, and spending a year with one person made me crazy. Ironic.

Well. What should I do now? I mean, this is going to last forever. I'm already bored out of my mind, what am I going to do later on? Maybe James is here… Nope, Lily had turned him over to the good side… they're probably both up there behind the pearly gates.

Suddenly, Sirius had the oddest sensation, like he hadn't felt anything for the longest time and was just now leaving the numbness.

Ouch. My back hurts. Am I supposed to feel pain? Thought I was dead!

It seemed as though Sirius were laying on a hard surface. He stood up quite hesitantly, and had a rude awakening when his knees gave in. He face-planted into the cold, solid floor. He tried again, perseverant as he was, prepared this time. Sirius succeeded, much to his delight. He pounded the ground with both feet, jumping as hard and high as he could.

Huh. Sturdy.

The curious wizard stuck his arms out and attempted to feel for a wall to guide him; no luck. So he just started walking.

And walking…

And walking…

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Merlin's Beard, this goes on forever! I wish there were somewhere I could sit down and rest, maybe somewhere with a little light. Is that too much to ask? 

And with that, Sirius could see a white spark in the distance.

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A/N: Just thought you'd like to know when this is, corresponding to the canon timeline! 

" '_Well, Harry… time for us to be off,' said Dumbledore at last, standing up and straightening his long black cloak. 'Until we meet again,' he said to the Dursleys, who looked as though that moment could wait forever as far as they were concerned, and after doffing his hat, he swept from the room." _

_---Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, page 56_

Hope you liked. Bit of a cliffhanger there, isn't it? Just thought it was the best way to end things before Sirius makes some big discoveries! And I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, I had a fifteen page paper for math due, and it was on the most insignificant topic ever. I could barely find enough information on it!

Now I have midterms. But I should be able to write more after Thursday, that's my last midterm… The MATH A REGENTS! Yeah, NYS schools are awesome, but the Regents suck. So hard… uhh. Yeah. So I'm off on Friday cause it's a midterm day and I don't have anything. Hopefully I can write then and on the weekend, maybe updating by next Monday? I hope, don't hold me too fast to my word. That is, if you even _want _me to continue the story!

If you do, you know what to do! Review and let me know! I need the feedback, don't care if it's bad. If you have nothing to say, just type "I reviewed." Or something. Anything! Please! You can tell, I'm desperate. And on that note, I have to go watch Desperate Housewives! I'm posting this now. Any review responses will be on my profile, and look out for chapter two (if I get reviews!): It's A Big World Out There!

---Rosie. (otherwise known as signoritarosa)

P.S. Click the purple "Go" button!


	2. It's a Big World Out There

(A/N): Review replies for ch. 1 are on the profile! I'm really sorry this took so long. Something was wrong with the computer.I don't want you to have to wait any longer, so here. Read.

Last time: "…And with that, Sirius could see a white spark in the distance."

See Disclaimer on chapter 1.

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**Beyond the Veil**

**Chapter Two: It's A Big World Out There**

_Huh. Where'd that come from? I could've sworn it wasn't there a second ago. _

_Maybe someone other than _me _is here! Maybe they've got a candle._

_However it got there, I'm going to it_..._hey, maybe it's that white light people are supposed to follow when they die. Maybe mine was just…delayed or something. _

_Yeah, and maybe I'm really the Minister of Magic and having an awfully long, terrible dream. Yeah right. _

_Maybe I'm nutters._

Sirius looked down at his feet; apparently they had stopped moving.

_So now I've lost the ability to think and walk at the same time. Great. I'd better start moving before I can't walk at all. At least this time I actually have a destination. Forward and onward, feet!_

So Sirius, with a bit more spring in his step, took off toward the seemingly floating speck of white light. It was slightly flickering, like that of strong candlelight, but the glow was such a pure white color, one that could never be produced by fire.

The man was displeased to find that the light was very small because of its distance away from him, not because of its actual size. And it wasn't getting any bigger.

_At this rate I'll be here forever! _

_Well…_

_I'd be here forever anyway. At least there's something to do.

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_

**:A Millennia Later (In Sirius' opinion): **

Sirius, with all his intelligence, decided that a run to the light would be a much better idea as he thought he'd finally be getting somewhere.

He was wrong.

Breathing heavily, Sirius sat on the cold, hard, pitch-black floor. He threw his iciest glare at the light far off in the distance, one that was perfected under the awful care of his Pureblood-maniac parents. He usually reserved the look for only the worst members of the 'Most Ancient and Noble House of Black'.

_Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, my wand! More like the most ancient and filthy house of cobwebs. _

But the light was teasing him. It was mocking him mercilessly. It deserved the worst stuff he had.

"Why can't I just _be _there already?" Sirius let out with a fierce canine growl, and followed it with a long string of expletives.

_Whoa. _

And Sirius was quite right to be astonished, because the small light that one moment ago had been so far off was now right above the wizard's head. It was one of the most curious things Sirius had ever seen. The light was radiating from some sort of wire encased in a small glass globe, and the globe was hanging from the ceiling(which Sirius could not see before) on a metal chain. A string dropped down from somewhere above the globe, reaching all the way down into Sirius' reach for who knows what purpose. The globe was close to his head, and the heat emanating from the wire made his current position quite uncomfortable. But he would not budge from his seat on the ground in fear that the light would dash away.

_Interesting. Time to play with this. _

"Can I have a chair to sit in?"

Instantly a hard-backed wooden chair appeared, and Sirius was surprised to find that he was already seated in it. But it made his back ache.

"A _comfortable _chair?"

A purple and red chintz armchair reminiscent of Albus Dumbledore's chair-conjuring prowess formed around Sirius. He immediately sank so far into the deep cushioning that his next, probably vulgar, words were incoherent.

After much deliberation on Sirius' part and much smart-alecky behavior on the unknown chair-creator's part, Sirius finally found himself in a comfortable armchair that was still in a position that makes sitting possible and was still in the vicinity of the light.

_So, this place or whoever runs it responds to my commands. But it likes to have some fun. I think if I weren't in this situation, I'd like this omnipresent being, who or whatever it is..._

Sirius heard a squelching noise. It took him a while to realize that it was the sound of his stomach growling.

_Ok, I'm going to have to word this really well in order for it to work._

"I would like a table the correct size and height for me to eat from. I would also like this table to be in the correct position and right in front of me, not floating up in the air please. On this table I would like a plate that is large enough to hold my serving of food yet small enough to fit on the tabletop. On this plate I would like a medium rare steak the size of my palms that tastes as it should and does not give off a nasty smell."

Sirius let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. The table was exactly the way he had it pictured in his mind, like a personal section of one of the tables in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. There were some vegetables (_Ew.) _on his plate along with the perfect steak; he didn't know who asked for those. There was even a goblet of pumpkin juice awaiting him, along with cutlery, which in his hunger he hadn't thought of.

_Since when did this person decide to be so nice? Where are all the games? Shouldn't they be trying to frustrate me, not make me leap for joy? _

The food gave off a lovely aroma.

_Enough questions._

Sirius tucked in to his plate of delicious food. He had never been so hungry… well, other than the time after he escaped from Azkaban and had to live on rats.

Forkful after forkful of food, Sirius never relented from his devouring to take a breath. When he was finally finished, he found himself breathing deeply. He had to wait a while before he could ask for the next thing he wanted.

"I wish this place actually looked like a _place_, not a vast dark oblivion, for Merlin's sake! Could you make it look like… Hogwarts for me? Please?"

It astonished Sirius every time something changed in his little world, but this was the most awesome change of all. Everything was just as he remembered from his last visit to Hogwarts in Harry's third year, or at least everything he could see at the moment was the same. He was currently standing in the Great Hall, which was very appropriate as he had just finished eating.

_Something's different. _

_What, other than the fact that you're just now standing in your old alma-mater even though you're dead? _

_No, something else. I hear…voices. _

_Maybe you're mad. But I definitely hear something. And since when did I have arguments with myself?_

Sirius turned around to find that the Great Hall was currently filled with people. They didn't have the uniformity that a group of Hogwarts students would have, all in black, and the group was mostly older than Hogwarts-age. But they were all eating, and they were all staring.

Right at him.

"What are you looking at?" Sirius barked. Most of them knew enough to avert their eyes, and the male wizard swaggered out of the hall.

_So my scary face still works… comforting to know. _

He began to climb the stairs; he had something he wanted to do.

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When Sirius reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, he had expected to see just that: the portrait of the Fat Lady. But when he got to the entrance of Gryffindor Tower, there was no painting, only a hole with a person standing guard over it. That person was wearing a pink dress, and she looked quite familiar. It was the Fat Lady herself! 

"Er… hello," Sirius said to the woman, quite unlike his confident self.

"You can't come in here," the Fat Lady replied in her usual voice.

"Why ever not?"

"Well… first of all, you don't have the password. And secondly, the two people living in here asked me not to let anyone in."

"And which two people might that be?" Sirius had a hunch, but he needed to get it confirmed... for all he knew they could be any two people that had gone to Hogwarts in their lifetimes and got sorted into Gryffindor House.

"Why, James and Lily Potter, of course!"

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(A/N): Yeah, I know it, I'm evil. Leaving that cliffy on you. And with my update track record, it might look like you won't be getting another chapter for a while. I'm going to try my hardest to get in another chapter soon... but Ihave an English project due Tuesday(wince). 

And, I know this wasn't very long. But it was longer than my previous writing efforts. I'm working at it. Had some computer issues like I said before, so that's why this wasn't up MUCH MUCH sooner. I'm sorry! Show that you've forgiven me (or not) by reviewing! Tell me what you think! Make predictions! Flame me! (yes, I'm giving you permission!) I don't care! Every little bit counts! So click theperiwinkle"go" button!And again, review replies for last chapter should be up on the profile.

----Rosie

P.S. REVIEW! PLEASE!


	3. Old Friends and Pillow Wars

A/N: After 3 years... (yes I'm aware how lame that is) rosie's back! Small note: I've changed my penname from signoritarosa to rosieee, so you might remember the old name.

Disclaimer: JKR owns all... I, sad peasant, own nothing.

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**Beyond the Veil: Chapter 3**

_What?_

"Would you mind, er, repeating that for me? I'd like to make sure I'm not dreaming," Sirius asked the Fat Lady.

"Lily and James Potter are living in Gryffindor Tower. Only for a little while longer, however. You see, there's quite a great amount of demand," replied the colossal female sentry of sorts.

"Demand? Demand for what?" Sirius blurted. _Are there really that many more people here who want to see Prongs and Lily? _

"Oh, plenty of Gryffindors past walk these halls and they'd like to see their old dormitories again. If you're also interested in residence, you'll have to put your name on this list," the large pinkly-clad woman replied conversationally. A scroll and quill decided to appear at that moment, and the scroll unfurled itself so that the bottom of the incredibly long list was visible. Sirius blinked, and after a moment realization dawned on his extremely handsome face.

"No, no, you're terribly mistaken, my lovely Lady. It's not the Tower I want… it's the two people inside!" The Fat Lady flushed even at his small, "lovely," compliment and lifted one hand up to her silken chestnut hair, which was piled intricately and confusingly atop her large head; it had been quite a while since someone, especially someone as good-looking and confident as Sirius, had flattered her. Many, many, years. Many.

"Now, darling," she was still primping her hair, "I've already told you— the Potters don't want to see anyone. 'Don't let anyone in,' James told me. 'Not a soul,' said Lily. And I haven't gone against their wishes ye—" Sirius got down on one knee, hand to his heart. The Fat Lady's face now matched her garishly pink dress.

"Please, dear, dear Lady, couldn't you just pop in for a mo' and mention that their dearly departed paragon of friendship Sirius is here? The godfather of their son? Could you do me just that single favor, dear Lady?"

"Sirius? That's your name?"

The man scoffed.

"Of course!"

"Are you sure? They've never mentioned you before."

_And I'm sure they've spent loads of their time chatting with the Fat Lady… all about what the elves made for lunch, their favorite knitting patterns, and their friends in the past life. _

He looked down at his black shoes (_Huh, when did they get polished between the Ministry and here?)_ and sighed for effect. "That smarts. I'm hurt. Siriusly hurt. Deeply. Down to the core."

Nothing happened. Sirius kept his eyes on his shoelaces and his mouth shut, until—

"Well… perhaps… I mean, it's not like we talk very much, is it?" Sirius looked up hopefully. "They just stay inside the Tower, mostly. I could go into the common room for just a second and ask them if they know a Sirius… a Sirius… what was your surname again?"

"Black."

"A Sirius Black! If you could just mind my doorway for a bit, I'll be back before you know it." The Fat Lady turned and waddled into Gryffindor Tower searching for its two occupants, leaving Sirius behind in her post. He leaned against the doorframe and began to whistle something by the Weird Sisters.

_I can't tell if this is a dream or a nightmare… in the beginning this veil place seemed kind of creepy and hellish, but now it's perfect. Too perfect. I'm sitting here wondering what the catch is to all this lot. There's no bloody way I'm in heaven and can stay here, eternally peaceful… is there? Then again, reuniting with James would count as a divine moment. Merlin, I can't believe I'm about to see him and Lily again! We can reminisce on all our past glories, I can tell them all about everything that's happened, about their amazing son…_

_Harry. I left him back there at the Ministry. What if the Death Eaters… what if the Order didn't make it out of the Department of Mysteries? Would Lily and James know? _

_How could they?_

_Well… who knows what's possible in this dreadful place._

_Will they be mad at me? Can I take that after all this time? What coul--…_

Sirius temporarily stopped his train of thought and his whistling.

_Where is that ridiculous woman?_

He turned around and hopped up into the portrait hole. When he emerged in the Gryffindor common room, he couldn't see a thing— not even the stately nose on his attractive face. The entire room was white.

_Have I gone blind? _Sirius brought his left hand up to his face and was able to see it… but it was covered in white feathers. Luckily, a quick shake and his hand was visible again.

_Is this down? It looks like someone's had a gigantic pillow fight in here!_

"Hello? Is anyone there? Fat Lady? James, Lily?" Sirius projected to the room as he slowly moved across the room, testing each step with his weight.

Suddenly he could hear a voice above him, perhaps coming from the stairs.

"Fair shot, fair shot!" And the side of Sirius's face was then pelted with a large pillow. His black hair was peppered with snow-white feathers, and he puffed to get the rest out of his mouth. He turned to the right and caught a glimpse of something red.

_Lily's hair?_ _Let's see, shall we?_

He gave chase and caught the redhead from behind, lifting her off the ground and into his arms as he ran up the stairs into one of the bedrooms, where there were only a few pieces of fluff littering the scarlet rug. She brought a hand up to clear her face of down, and when she set her bright emerald eyes on Sirius, she yelped and jumped out of his arms.

Then she screamed, hit him on the shoulder, and embraced him once more. "Sirius Black, you scared the life out of me! I thought you were James!"

"Speaking of him—where the devil is he in that featherstorm down there?" asked Sirius congenially. Lily scoffed.

"Oh, I don't know… he's probably found some clever hiding spot underneath a table piled over with pillows or something. He always wins the pillow wars."

"It sounds like these pillow wars are a regular occurrence," Sirius observed.

"Well, I suppose they are. I mean, when you've got as much time as we have…" She trailed off into the silence. "Are you… have you passed? Well I mean, obviously you must have done, you're here aren't you? But I'd have thought we would have been notified of your arrival! They tend to be very good about things like that, very punctual here."

"I'm not surprised you didn't know. My death, would you call it that? Anyway, it was very sudden and unexpected—"

"How did you get in here, by the way? We've got the Fat Lady, the actual Fat Lady, can you believe that? She's supposed to keep everyone out." Lily had a curious expression.

"See, I convinced her with my manly wiles, I said, 'couldn't you just pop in and ask 'em if they wouldn't like to see their best mate Sirius, fresh from the land of the living?' and she couldn't resist me with my handsome features," related a comfortably smug Sirius from his seat on one of the four-poster beds in the dormitory. "She was in here for ages, so I couldn't resist coming in for myself and seeing what was keeping her."

Lily burst out in warm laughter. "She must have lost herself in the clouds of feathers!"

"Who's lost? Are you giving up the fight already, Lils?" A messy black-topped head peeked around the corner of the door, and the man known as James Potter dropped his jaw as well as the two large pillows in his current possession. They plopped to the floor and spurted feathers all over him, but he didn't notice, as he eagerly ran over to the bed on which Sirius was sitting.

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A/N: I know, it's not much, but I'm already working on ch. 4, so hopefully my next update will be MUCH more prompt. Many apologies to anyone who's been waiting! You get an award for most patient readers in the history of ffnet! I love you dearly :]

Please review! It takes but a moment, and makes me feel much more motivated to write the next chapter. -- rosie


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